Back in the day, Black jockeys were actually quite common. Black riders were atop 13 of the 15 horses in 1875’s Kentucky Derby. Things are a bit different these days with fewer riders. Here are the highlights: 

• Carmouche will be the first 1st Black Jockey since 2013 to represent at the Kentucky Derby. He’s actually a part of only a handful of black jockeys in the past century, much like Marlon St. Julien and Patrick Husbands. 
• Carmouche is one of the few black jockeys remaining in this sport. It goes to show the marginalization of black jockeys that all but disappeared from riding completely.
• He hopes to inspire others because the road he took to get there wasn’t easy. For him, he didn’t want to make it about color, but rather hard work and perseverance to achieve this feat.
• Carmouche put in the work and has a success story of his own by winning over 3,400 races, which total up to $118 million since he began to ride professionally in 2000. 
• He joins St. Julien as the only U.S.-born Black jockeys since 1921, which is long after the heyday of guys like Isaac Murphy and Jimmy Winkfield. 
• Husbands is inspired by Carmouche because it reminds him of what he was trying to do 15 years ago.
• He also says it would be a blessing if Carmouche became the first Black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby since 1902.
• It would touch many people and even bring tears to his eyes.